Statute of Limitations
by GimmeBanjo
Summary: Invicta AU: Joe Booth comes into town to speak with Kelly, causing a chain reaction of emotions and questions with no real answers. How do the Booths adapt? How can they keep going?
1. Chapter 1

Statute of Limitations

Invicta AU: Joe Booth comes into town to speak with Kelly, causing a chain reaction of emotions and questions with no real answers. How do the Booths adapt? How can they keep going?

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**In my head, Booth's dad is a horrible, horrible guy. I don't know exactly what he did, but I don't think he deserves the chance of trying to explain himself to Booth… But he can to Kelly!**_

_**On another note, this may be my last Kelly piece. I'm playing with a few more story lines, but I'm having a hard time flushing them out. I guess I have to wait until my life gets angsty again for more inspiration. For some reason, when I find myself copacetic, my writings/ideas suffer. So I hope you enjoy it, because it may very well be the last you hear from me! ;) If you have any suggestions or something you want to hear, please contact me… even a little note would helped tremendously. My mind is like a three ring circus and saying one thing may spark another idea for a story!**

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_Nobody is perfect  
Let's bury the hatchet  
Cause a grudge can be contagious and I don't want to catch it  
The drama has run its course  
For that I am certain  
But the statute of limitations is up and I'm drawing the curtain now_

_It's all part of the show  
But the picture is only  
A limited fragment  
A frequency chasm  
A miniscule bit of a pixel of it  
And the light that's not there  
And the vapor of thin air  
The gum on the shoe  
But it's not really you  
Just an angle of one point of view  
That you learn long ago_  
~"All Part of the Show" Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers

* * *

"You're terrible at this." Parker Booth sat on one end of the couch in his mother's basement. The basement that his Aunt Kelly had taken over when she moved in with them a year ago.

"I wear contacts." Kelly argued. "I have to blink. Blinking should be allowed."

"Dad is so much better at this than you are." He taunted and Kelly sat back in shock and opened her mouth. "Ha! I win again! You looked away!" Kelly crossed her arms in mock protest of losing the staring contest.

"You know," Kelly smiled deviously "You dad was trained by the Army to sit and concentrate on things for long periods of time. They paid him to do it. Are you paying me?"

"One dollar." Parker said after a moment's hesitation.

"Two dollars and we can do this all day." Kelly squinted her eyes and leaned forward, preparing for war.

"It's a deal." Parker mimicked her position and another round of the staring contest began.

"Hey Slugger," They both heard Parker's father shout from the top of the stairs. "Are you down there? We're going to be late for practice!"

"Not now!" Parker shouted in response without taking his eyes away from Kelly's.

"Not now?" Booth took the stairs down two at a time and stopped when he saw the pair sitting on the couch, facing each other in concentration. "Oh, I see."

"I've won five in a row." Parker said proudly and Kelly smiled. "One more."

"You're not going to win this time, young grasshopper." Kelly squinted a little.

"What are the rules?" Booth came around in front of the couch and stood there, waiting.

"No touching, no funny faces…" Kelly told him, with her eyes locked on Parker's.

"And no blinking." He reminded.

"Alright, then I'll just head to practice and leave you two here." Booth started for the stairs and Parker sat up in shock.

"But I won't be able to play in the game tomorrow if I'm not there!" He cried out, looking at Booth.

"Ha!" Kelly pumped her diminutive fist in the air. "Thanks, big brother!" Booth smiled.

"That was so not fair!" Parker protested as he stood up from the couch. "Rematch after my practice?"

"Oh you know it, Little Man." She stretched out her sore legs. "Hey, personal favor." She looked directly at Parker.

"Yes?" He smiled innocently

"Try not to break Jeremy's hand today. I like his hands. Complete." She narrowed her eyes and playfully held up a warning finger in Parker's face. In an effort to get the two most important men in her life, her boyfriend and brother, to get to know each other, Kelly had asked Booth to let Jeremy help co-coach Parker's baseball team. He had willingly agreed, delighting both Kelly and Parker.

"Hey," Parker shrugged. "Not my fault he's a pansy."

"Parker!" Booth barked from the foot of the stairs. Parker's eyes darted over to his father's disapproving glare and mumbled a quick "Sorry" as he quickly ducked away from Kelly, around his father and up the stairs.

"He makes a good point." Booth smiled as he started up the stairs. "If your boyfriend is going to be catching for my son, he better toughen up a bit. The Booth Men have a mean fast ball."

Kelly grabbed a small pillow from the back of the couch and hurled it at Booth with a mocking, "Catch this!" as he darted up the stairs after his son.


	2. Chapter 2

_I was messing around on facebook today and I decided to search for Kelly Booth. Interesting fun fact: a Kelly Booth and I share 1 mutual friend. Oh, the things I do out of boredom. I can't wait to get back to work tomorrow…

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_

Kelly clung to the fence behind the dugout, cheering on her nephew as he stepped up to the plate.

"Home run, Park! Home run!" She shouted as her brother put his hand up to his right ear.

"Kelly, he knows what to do." Booth slammed a wooden clipboard into the fence, rattling the fence and causing Kelly to jump back.

"I just get really excited." She apologized and shot a grin over at her boyfriend and the baseball team's co-coach.

"I'd go back into the bleachers before you get shot." Jeremy winked as he stepped in between Booth and Kelly. "You make a much cuter cheerleader than coach."

"She's a terrible coach, Jeremy." Booth threw over his shoulder. "Don't encourage her."

"Fine." She mumbled as she watched Parker let a low ball sail by. "Way to keep an eye on the ball!" She shouted in Jeremy's ear. "I'm sorry. I'm going."

She made her way up the bleachers, picking her way through parents and siblings all watching the same game; all managing to control themselves. She picked a spot along the top row and sat down, clapping as Parker hit the ball, allowing a runner to get home and Parker safely to first base.

"That your son?" An older man slid onto the bench next to her.

"No, my nephew." She smiled as she turned her head and looked at the old man. She froze the instant a pair of sparkling brown eyes captured hers from underneath a stern brow. "You…" She whispered, taking in the man beside her. Still tall, he carried a little more weight around the middle, but the smirk that danced on his lips was unmistakable.

"Shhh," He playfully held his fingers to his lips. "I'm not here."

"I'm pretty damn sure you're sitting right next to me." She scooted down the bench a few inches and shot a quick glance at her brother who was enthralled in the game.

"Don't distract him." The man laughed. "Seeley never liked to be distracted."

"What the hell are you doing here?" She whispered angrily, realizing that he was right.

"Is it so wrong that a father wants to know how his children are doing?" He looked innocent enough, Kelly thought to herself. Dressed casually in khakis and a blue sweatshirt, he looked more like someone's grandfather than a alcoholic bastard.

"Does your phone not work?" Kelly slid over a few more inches, hoping he wouldn't notice, but she knew he would.

"You and I both know that if I called, you'd never answer." He smiled with what Kelly read as a hint of regret.

"Did it ever occur to you that it was with good reason?" Kelly almost laughed, shocked by his gall.

"Kelly Ann, don't cause a scene here." He smiled slyly. "You wouldn't do that to Seeley, would you?"

"You're a jerk." She knew she was trapped because she knew he was right. She wouldn't ruin the game for Seeley or Parker. They didn't get a lot of time together and she wasn't going to allow _him_ to get to her.

Joe Booth reached into his pocket and pulled out a little slip of paper. He held it out for Kelly, his eyes pleading for her to take it.

"My number." He explained as she tentatively reached for it. "I'm going to be in town for the weekend and I think we should talk."

"Why are you so secretive all of the sudden?" She laughed at the sheer ridiculousness of it all. "Are you under witness protection or something? What did you do?"

"Let's just say I'm hiding from the Feds." He cast a quick glance over into the dugout. "Like I said, I'm not here to cause a scene, are you?"

"I'm here because of my wonderful nephew." Kelly couldn't help but tilt her nose up as she turned her attention back to the game. She felt the bleachers shift as Joe Booth stood up next to her and wordlessly made his way down, leaving the baseball game.

_Damn it._ Kelly thought to herself, already knowing she would have to call him. _Tricky bastard._

*

"So you know what I was thinking about today?" Kelly jabbed her fork into her garden salad. She, Booth, Jeremy and Parker were seated around a table at the diner, celebrating Parker's baseball team's win. Whether the team won or lost, the four of them celebrated every game.

"Do I want to know?" Booth asked cautiously, snapping his finger against his son's hand as Parker tried to steal a French fry.

"Remember that football game when you were a senior in high school?" She asked vaguely

"I remember quite a few." He smirked

"No, the one where Dad showed up." She prompted. Heavy handed hints were her only option right now.

"Why that one in particular?" Booth wondered out loud as Kelly shrugged.

"You don't mention your dad much." Jeremy tilted his head and looked at Kelly. Of course Jeremy would get the hint, leave it to Seeley not to.

"Pops?" Parker reached across the table for Jeremy's fries.

"You know what, enough with the fries." Booth scolded with a smile. "And no, not Pops, our dad." With his hand, he motioned between himself and Kelly.

"I'm with Jeremy." Parker nodded towards Kelly. "No one talks about your dad ever."

"Meh," Kelly shrugged. "He's not anything worth mentioning."

"So," Booth eyed her suspiciously. "Why did you mention him?"

"I was just thinking about that game today, that's all." She smiled at Parker. "You know your dad was an amazing football player."

"I know, he's told me." Parker rolled his eyes as Kelly and Jeremy laughed.


	3. Chapter 3

It was Saturday night, but Kelly sat in her office at the Jeffersonian, spinning around in circles in her black leather chair. She was filing tort law complaints again and found spinning broke up the monotony of what was left of the week's work.

There were three reasons why she took the job Brennan had offered her after she had left her previous employment as a prized defense attorney. First was it was a paycheck. She still had student loans to pay and being practical, she knew she couldn't piddle around for years. The second reason was because Brennan had made a compelling argument that Kelly was now considered family and family all seemed to work in conjunction with the Jeffersonian. Kelly couldn't dispute tradition. Thirdly, the office. Once she saw the cherry desk and black leather chair in which was debatably the most grown up office Kelly had ever imagined herself in… she was sold. Tort complaints be damned.

She stopped spinning for long enough to look at the little piece of paper her father had given her that morning at Parker's baseball game. _Stupid Joe_. She sighed. He knew just as well as she did that she was curious as to why he was there. But at the same time, she couldn't tell Seeley about it. He would go absolutely insane and probably would be held responsible for his actions. _Well_, she admitted to herself, _criminally if not morally_.

With a groan, she picked up the paper and her fingers danced over the phone keys as she dialed a Philadelphia area code. She picked up the phone and waited for an answer.

"Hello, Dad." She said after his greeting. He didn't sound surprised that she called, and she had known he wouldn't be. After curt pleasantries, she agreed to meet him for lunch on Sunday. Knowing they couldn't meet anywhere that Booth might go, she thought of an out of the way restaurant where they could have lunch. They agreed upon a time and the place and Kelly hung up, still inwardly groaning.

_What have I done?_

*

As Kelly had promised, she called the restaurant and made a reservation under Booth. She hoped that if they were at a nicer place, the environment would help their civility, or at least keep Kelly under control as she looked across the table at a man who had never really accepted her as his own. When she thought of her childhood, she first thought of Seeley, then Alice, Jared, Pops and Grandma. Never her own father.

When she arrived at the restaurant, deliberately five minutes late, she introduced herself to the hostess and the hostess smiled. "Your party is already here!" She grinned as she led Kelly to the table. Kelly slid into the seat across from her father and accepted the menu with a smile. Immediately, she started perusing the options, not able to bring herself to look at Joe Booth.

"I didn't think you'd actually come." He said after a minute, a smug smile let Kelly know he was pleased she was there.

"Why would you think that?" She sighed and put down the menu, suddenly not hungry.

"I just thought my father and Seeley would have talked you out of it."

"I didn't tell anyone." She held up her chin. "I'm a big girl and I can make decisions for myself."

"I'm glad." He nodded and looked at the menu as a waitress came to take their drink order. Once she left, he looked back up. "Last time I saw you, you were scrawny and looked like a street hoodlum. You look good now, Kelly."

"Thank you." She muttered and looked at her napkin. It wasn't fair the way he was complimenting her in a way that made her doubt herself.

"I hear you're a lawyer."

"How did you hear that?" When she looked up, his eyes seemed to be drilling into her. She shivered a little not because of him, but because it finally hit her how much they all looked like him, Seeley and Jared in different ways than her. How he was there every day, his eyes staring back at them all.

"There's this amazing thing called the internet." He smirked again. "Google. I didn't know you were living in Washington, DC with Seeley, though. I thought for sure you'd still be in New York."

"I went to college down here. Remember? You had to sign the paper that let me in." She shifted uncomfortably in her seat

"That's right." He nodded. "I forgot about our little secret. I'm glad it worked out for you."

"Don't lie." She rolled her eyes. "You didn't care one way or the other."

"No, you're right." He leaned into the table a little bit. "I didn't. You could have died in the gutter for all I cared, and it wouldn't have mattered. You were just a stain on a bed sheet to me."

"Yeah?" She arched an eyebrow, surprised with how little his harsh statement bothered her.

"Yeah." He sat back a little. "But I'm here to fix that."

"You can't really fix that unless you have some magically ability to erase memories. Mr. Clean doesn't make a Magic Eraser for the past." She crossed her arms as the waitress dropped off their drinks. Both she and Joe smiled similar toothless smiles at the waitress in thanks, then turned back to each other once she left. "I learned you can't fix the past."

"But I can try, right?" He shrugged noncommittally and it bothered Kelly.

"No!" She seethed. "You can't."

"Why not?" He looked innocently at her

"You beat your son." She said evenly, hoping not to betray her raging emotions.

"I never beat you." He pointed out proudly

"You didn't have to." She narrowed her eyes, anger pulsing through her veins. "Collateral damage."

"Do not talk about things of which you have no clear memories." He locked his eyes on hers. There was something underneath that Kelly just couldn't read. Was it anger? Embarrassment?

"No," She sighed in resignation. The brief swell of anger had exhausted her. She didn't want to fight, but she didn't want him to win. "You're right. I don't know what happened."

"I'm sober now." Joe offered after a brief hesitation

"Because that totally makes up for 30 years of emotional and physical abuse." She scoffed. Joe slammed his fist onto the table, Kelly flinched as an automatic reaction.

"Damn it, Kelly!" He hissed through his teeth "I'm asking for forgiveness!"

"You're asking the wrong person." She settled back into her seat, a sudden feeling of power washing over her. She had always been able to make him angry, but now he seemed to be frantic as well. Something wild was hidden beneath the surface and Kelly felt as though she was controlling it. "My scars are long gone. You're just another name in a long string of people who have done me wrong. But you're Enemy Number One for someone," She swallowed quickly and barreled on. "For two little boys. You should have ruined their childhood, but in a testament to how terrible of a person you are and how amazing the people around you are, those boys grew up." She put her napkin on the table and stood up. "You are not part of my nightmares anymore. You don't deserve any forgiveness because you've been forgotten."

She started to leave the table and as she passed by, Joe reached out and grabbed her wrist. She stopped and looked down at him with an expression mixed with anger and confusion.

"I never wanted you." Joe said softly. Kelly attempted to pull out of his grip but he held fast. "And that's why I'm sorry. I wish I could have loved you because you've turned out to be everything you shouldn't have been. You're right. You, Seeley and Jared have all overcome a lot and I'm sorry."

"Sorry that we overcame it or sorry that you caused it." She spat out

Joe shrugged. "I think you should listen to me."

"Seeley better never hear you say that." She slipped out of his grip and looked straight into his eyes. "He would kick your ass, old man. He would kick it so hard, you'd probably never even live to see the inside of an emergency room. But if you ever talk to me again," She took a step back in an effort to control herself. "I wouldn't give you the courtesy of calling 911 after I did it."

"You think you can threaten me?" Joe stood up quickly and his chair made a scrapping noise across the wooden floor. The table next to them threw irritated glance over their shoulders and Joe took a deep breath and continued in a more reserved tone, "Remember who you're talking to."

"That's just it, Joe." She sighed and turned around and threw over her shoulder, "No one wants to remember you."


	4. Chapter 4

Kelly knocked on Booth's door, moving her legs nervously as she waited for him to answer. It was Sunday afternoon, Parker would be back with Rebecca. Her only fear was having Booth open the door and Brennan be standing somewhere in the apartment. She didn't know why, but the thought of seeing anyone but her brother frightened her. She needed the comfort that only he could give; the reassurance that she so desperately hoped he would be strong enough to provide.

After a few minutes of nervousness, Booth opened the door, standing there in a gray t-shirt and jeans.

"Thank God." She stood on her tip toes and threw her arms around his neck

"What the hell, Kelly?" He tried to pull her off, but she clung on tighter.

"Bananas." She whispered into his ear.

Recognizing their code word for when one of them was in trouble, Booth took a few steps backwards, effectively pulling Kelly into the apartment, then closed the door. He was able to unlatch her arms and he stepped back. He just had to look at her and she opened her mouth, spilling everything out.

"He came to my son's baseball game?" Booth repeated slowly once she had finished recounting the entire experience of seeing their father.

"Is that all you have to say?" She asked flabbergasted.

"Did he threaten you?" He looked at her carefully.

"More like I threatened him." She laughed a little. "He wanted to apologize. Should I have let him?"

"I don't know." Booth ran his hand through his hair and across the back of his neck as he paced further into the living room.

"Do you think he's dying?" She followed him in.

"What makes you think that?" He allowed himself to fall into his couch.

"Because that's what dying people do in movies and stuff?" She shrugged. "You know, one last heroic try to right past wrongs?" She curled herself into a ball next to him on the couch.

"That's extremely optimistic of you." Booth laughed, half wishing that maybe he was dying.

"Righting past wrongs or him dying?" Kelly eyed him and he shrugged. "What would you have done?"

"I wouldn't have called him."

"Yes you would have!" She insisted, pointing out, "You want to know the truth as badly as I do!"

"I think the truth has been long hidden by all kinds of lies, Kelly. He has nothing to offer us now, and he knows it." He said solidly. He was disturbed by Kelly's story and even more annoyed that she had followed through with seeing their father.

"He's manipulating us?" She asked innocently, hoping that she hadn't been duped.

"Maybe."

"Do you think he's sober?" She started plucking on the hair band around her wrist.

"Kelly, I have no idea." He sighed with frustration and stopped her fidgeting hands. He looked intensely in her eyes and continued, "But I think he has lots to be sorry about."

"I should have let him apologize." She looked at his hand grasping her wrist and she felt it tighten.

"No, not to you." Booth shook his head and smiled sadly at Kelly. "He should be apologizing to himself."

"And you." She looked up at him and he pulled away.

"Maybe me too." He admitted slowly. "Maybe he should apologize to Pops, too. And Mom. I think his list is so long that it doesn't matter anymore."

"I never want to screw up that badly." Kelly said softly. "I mean, I'm not a fun person to fight with, but I never want to have a list of people I need to apologize to for simply being myself."

Booth stared across the living room at the turned-off TV. He crossed his arms across his chest and simply stared for, what felt like to Kelly, a long time.

"Does it make me seem like a terrible person if I admit that I'm a little hurt he went to you and not to me?" Booth asked finally

"No," Kelly shook her head. "I think he's scared of you. The ones you hurt the most are the ones who can hurt you back."

"Who taught you that?" He let his lips curl up into a smirk

"Have you not been paying attention for the last 27 years of my life?" She asked sarcastically then smiled. "If I were Dad, I wouldn't come to you. Maybe because you own a gun, maybe because you're now bigger and stronger than him. Also, maybe because he's a coward."

"He tried to ask you for forgiveness." Booth pointed out after a short pause

"Yeah, for not loving me." She sneered. "But I think he really loved you, in a weird and twisted way… but he loved you."

"I wouldn't qualify his abuse and disappearance as love, Kelly." He said disdainfully and kicked his legs up on the coffee table

"I wouldn't either," She agreed. "But he knew you'd be at Parker's baseball game. He can't get that from Google. Someone somewhere knows that he still loves you. If he didn't, he wouldn't have bothered."

"You make him sound like a stalker." Booth laughed more to himself. "Maybe he is. And maybe you're right. But Kelly," He turned and looked at her purposely. "I never want to know."

"Okay." She nodded, kicking her legs up and crossing her arms, mimicking Booth's position. "Then neither do I. I'm with you on this one."


	5. Chapter 5

Brennan walked into the J. Edgar Hoover building and made her way up to her partner's office. Wearing her usual visitor's badge and a smile, she ducked into the room.

"Have you received the files you requested?" She asked as she noticed he wasn't behind his desk, but pacing as if he were retracing his steps. "You're acting as though you lost something."

"What?" He looked up, startled. "I was just thinking."

"Have you requested the files?" She asked again. "You know, for the case we're working on. Remains of an unknown victim in my lab…" She teased, but her newfound ability seemed to be lost on him.

"Oh, yeah." He nodded absent-mindedly. "They're looking for them in Records. They should be up shortly. Sit down." He motioned towards the chair and continued pacing.

"You seem upset about something." She slowly sank into the seat and followed his movements

"I'm not upset." Booth continued taking measured steps around his office. "I'm waiting for the files."

"I believe that the stress ball in your hand would like to make a different conclusion." Brennan smiled wryly as Booth looked down at the ball in his hand that he had been mutilating.

"Ok." Booth slid into the seat next to Brennan. "My dad came to talk to Kelly."

"What?" That was not what she expected.

"He apologized for not loving her."

"That seems like a useless apology."

"But highly appropriate." Booth grumbled. "I just don't know why he went to her and not me."

"Most likely because he knows that you're still angry and that you probably wouldn't listen."

"I'd always listen. I may not like what he said, but I'd give him the opportunity to explain himself."

"You would?"

"No." Booth pushed himself out of the chair and began pacing again. "I guess not."

"I find it strange that your father would chose now, after all of these years, to come talk to one of you." Booth shot her a questioning look from across the room. "Well, you and Kelly are united and Jared is coming into town this week…"

"Oh man." He stopped and looped his thumbs through his belt. "I forgot about that. You think he planned it so that we would all be together and able to forgive him at once?"

"Or he wanted to throw all of you off-kilter." Brennan surmised. "But I don't know your father."

"Neither do I." Booth groaned and started pacing. "Look at you Bones, getting all psychological on me."

"I find when dealing with your family, it is best to throw what I know about anthropology out the proverbial window." She smirked.

"Yeah, we seem to be just outside the anthropological bell curve, don't we." He smiled a little as an agent stuck his head in the doorway.

"I've got those files you asked for." He held up a stack of manila folders that Booth took off his hands.

"Thanks, Gary." Booth pushed the door closed behind the agent and made his way to his desk. He threw the files on top, but he didn't sit down. "How would he know that Jared would be coming in to town, though?"

"He knew where to locate Kelly, I would assume he still had contact with someone." Brennan shrugged. "Or he could just be extremely resourceful."

"No, my dad is a straight forward guy." Booth shook his head and finally sat down. "No bull. Being resourceful is not his M.O. I just," He picked up the first file and started flipping through it, not really reading. "I just wonder why he chose now."

"If the two of you won't talk, you may never know." Brennan reached across the desk to stop his fidgeting hands, then picked up a file of her own.

"Yeah," Booth sighed. "I guess you're right."

"Can you live with that?" She asked slowly, not letting her eyes waver from his.

"I'm going to have to." He said despondently then looked back down at the file in his hands. "Back to work."


	6. Chapter 6

Booth and Kelly made another lap around the pick-up lanes at Dulles International Airport. Nervously, Kelly was drumming her fingers on the center consol between them and staring at the window.

"Udvar-Hazy." She laughed to herself as they passed the sign that pointed off in the direction of the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum.

"You've said that about 47 times." Booth sighed.

"Well if you'd just park in the cell phone waiting area, we wouldn't be wasting gas and we wouldn't have passed it 47 times for me to laugh at it!" Kelly grunted in response.

"Jared's plane should get here any second." Booth insisted, starting another lap around the lanes.

"He can wait the three seconds it takes us to get from the cell phone waiting area." She stretched her arms out in front of her and yawned.

"Stop yawning." He snapped at her and she smiled as he yawned in response.

"Sorry, I've been working late recently." She rested her head against the window. "Complaints against the Jeffersonian don't file themselves, you know?"

Booth slowed down as they passed the exit from the terminal. He scanned the crowd of people for a familiar face and guided his truck into an open space once he saw a tall, slim man standing next to a large suitcase.

With a gasp, Kelly reached for the door handle and threw it open, unbuckling her seatbelt in a smooth motion as she launched herself out of the car towards the man.

"Bubba!" She cried in a voice that mixed excitement with tenderness. Booth smiled as he watched Jared take a few steps towards her as she flung herself into his arms. Her feet dangled in the air as Jared continued to hug his little sister. No one really called Jared "Bubba" anymore, but coming from Kelly, it was natural. As if no one had ever stopped calling him that.

Booth got out of the car and popped open the tailgate. When he walked around to open it, he glanced at Jared and Kelly, now walking towards the car. Jared was pulling along a large suitcase with his free arm around Kelly's shoulders. Kelly was looking up at him with bright, laughing eyes, grinning like an idiot as Jared said something that made her laugh.

A wave of jealousy passed over him, but he quickly realized that the reunion between his two younger siblings was at least 13 years in the making. Jared hadn't been there when Kelly disappeared and he wasn't there when Kelly came home. Watching their faces, he wondered about the bond between the two. For Booth, he was close to his siblings, but his connection with Kelly was always stronger than his connection with Jared. Maybe it was because she was the baby or she was a girl, but he and Jared had never needed each other. Jared was too self-centered for needing him, too bent on doing what Jared wanted. Booth felt the need to protect his siblings, but the relationship with Jared wasn't as symbiotic. Did Jared feel the same way? Did he feel stronger about Kelly than he did about Booth?

He didn't have time to think of answers to his questions when the pair approached him.

"Seeley." Jared greeted in monotone, almost shocking Booth. But then he grinned and threw his arms around his older brother.

"Good to see you didn't crash that motorcycle in India and die." Booth returned the hug with a grin.

"Yeah, I couldn't die. I didn't want to let you hog our little sister all to yourself." Jared laughed as he threw Kelly into a headlock. "Have you ever noticed she is the perfect height for a arm rest?"

"Stop that." Kelly elbowed him in the ribs and he pulled away laughing. "I spend hours on this hair every morning!" She joked about her short and care-free blond locks.

"Looks like we've got a taxi pile up behind us." Jared nodded his head in the direction of the line of cars behind them. He threw his suitcase into the back of Booth's SUV and looked at Kelly. "Please tell me you picked somewhere good to eat dinner. Not Seeley's bar or diner."

"You still like Italian?" Kelly practically skipped around to the back seat of the SUV as Booth and Jared made their way to the front.

"Can Seeley still shoot a thumbtack off of a fence post?" Jared laughed

"I don't know, let's find a fence post in DC and we'll see." Booth rolled his eyes as he got behind the wheel and drove his siblings to dinner.


	7. Chapter 7

_There's a Buffy quote hidden in this chapter somewhere. I have to say, it's probably one of my most favorite Buffy quotes of all time, and when I wrote myself into it by accident, I felt compelled to include it. Kudos if you can spot it! ;)_

*

Kelly sat, staring in awe at her two older brothers. They were sitting in a small Italian restaurant, Jared to her right and Seeley sitting across the table. Kelly desperately tried to remember the last time they were all sitting at the same table laughing. She wondered about the picture they were painting. Would passers-by be able to tell they were siblings? _Jared and Seeley_, she thought to herself, _look like brothers. But me?_ She unconsciously fingered her nose. Pops always called it a "button nose". Jared teased her and said it was because she had a butt on her nose, but she liked her nose. It wasn't strong like her brothers' but it was hers. Booth flashed a bewildered gaze over to Kelly and she dropped her hand from her nose and smiled. _Ah_, she remembered, _of course we're all related. It's the eyes. Eyes that tell stories._

"So then he says to me, "Picture this, you're hiding naked in a refrigerator…" Jared laughed as Kelly and Booth groaned at the end of his story.

"You're disgusting." Kelly accused playfully

"Hey, it wasn't me, it was Avijit!" Jared held up his hands in defense of himself

"So you've been living above a restaurant for the last few months?" Booth decided to quickly steer away from his brother's more bawdy exploits while in India.

"Yeah, a traditional Jain vegetarian restaurant. They have these crazy practices like not being allowed to drink unfiltered water because it might have minuscule bugs. They have this whole thing about not wanting to harm any creature, no matter how small, so they don't cook at night because bugs will be attracted to the lights. No honey, either."

"Why no honey?"

"They don't want to torture the bees." Jared smiled a little. Booth could tell that Jared didn't agree with that practice. He couldn't honestly say he did either, but Bones would probably argue with them if she was there. "Anyway, my apartment smelled great and I learned a lot about cooking Indian food."

"Have I ever told you that I'm thinking of taking up a part-time night job as an Official Food Tester?" Kelly perked up and smiled widely at Jared as he laughed.

"I'd love to be your first client."

"Score." Kelly danced a little in her seat.

"So what else has been going on lately? Beside being a big-shot FBI agent and a big-shot lawyer?" Jared asked and Booth and Kelly exchanged a quick, meaningful look. They had already decided that they would tell Jared about their father visiting, but they hadn't really planned to tell him at dinner. Reluctantly, Booth shrugged his shoulders a little, signaling Kelly to go ahead.

"Dad stopped by last weekend."

With that news, all three siblings seemed to stop breathing, waiting for one of the others to be the first to speak. Finally, Booth cleared his throat.

"He came to see Kelly."

"Just Kelly?" Jared raised a questioning eyebrow and Booth nodded. "Weird."

"Maybe he knew Seeley would open a can of whoop ass on him." Kelly nodded seriously and Jared tried to hold back a grin.

"Maybe he wanted to see you the most." Jared offered

"Maybe he is attempting to take over the world." Kelly shrugged

"Maybe he actually meant he was sorry." Jared countered. Booth eyed him suspiciously. He tried to replay the conversation in his head, tried to remember if he and Kelly had told Jared _why_ their father had come to town.

"Maybe he has a lot of regrets." She agreed slowly and Booth coughed lightly.

"Don't jump to conclusions, Kelly." He sneered

"I didn't _jump _to conclusions. I took a small step, and conclusions there were." She rolled her eyes and laughed lightly, trying to change the quickly darkening mood.

"He has a lot of regrets." Jared acquiesced.

"One of them is me." Kelly frowned.

"No, one of them is not loving you." Booth shook his head. "Big difference there, Munchkin."

"You know," Jared leaned into the table, resting his elbows on the edge and turned his head to smile at Kelly. "In India, there is a proverb, "Keep five yards from a carriage, ten yards from a horse, and a hundred yards from an elephant; but the distance one should keep from a wicked man cannot be measured"."

"Don't tell me you accidentally got smart in India." Kelly eyed him suspiciously and he laughed.

"Kelly, it is good to have you and your lack of faith in my back in my life again." He smiled an impish smile and all of the sudden, Kelly felt bad.

"I have faith in you!" She protested "Loads of faith!"

"Nah, your faith is in Seeley here." His lips curled into a smile. "Which is okay because you're a mess to try to handle."

"You know how Dad found us." His words were sudden and intense. Booth's cold eyes seemed to pierce through to Jared's soul. Kelly shivered a little when she saw her brothers staring intensely at each other.

"So I may have started talking to him a few years back." He admitted slowly, keeping tabs on Seeley's uneven breathing. "I couldn't tell you or Pops because I knew how you'd react. But he's sober now, Seeley. He feels really bad about all the stuff he did. Especially to you. He wants to be a part of our lives again."

The tension at the table was uncomfortable. Kelly's eyes darted from brother to brother, trying to decide who would either throw the first punch or walk away first.

"He can't." Seeley said in a slow, uneven voice. "And he knows it."

"Of course he knows it." Jared nodded, hoping that agreeing with Seeley would make it better. "But he wishes. He can dream, right? Just kind of like Kelly here dreamt of being an Olympic ice skater."

"You encouraged him?" Kelly asked, still trying to process what Jared was saying.

"There's stuff we don't know." Jared sighed, trying to make his siblings understand his reasoning. "I know it doesn't excuse what he did to us, how he tore us apart, but there's a whole other side to the story. And maybe we should hear it one day. I mean, we turned out alright, didn't we?" He looked between Booth and Kelly. "The knowledge that we have is so small, so skewed towards the memories of children, that maybe we're missing something."

"He didn't get smart, Kelly." Booth coldly looked at Kelly. "He got deep."

"I'm just saying, maybe there is something there we don't know." He shrugged. "Maybe we don't ever want to know it because in retrospect? What does it really matter? We're all still here, all healthy and we're still talking to each other. So, I think it's worth a shot."

"He kind of has a point." Kelly interjected slowly. "Nothing Dad can say will change how I feel about the two of you." She looked from Jared to Booth with a meaningful gaze. "This is my life now. I'm not in Philly and I don't have to hold your hand when I cross the street." She fixed her eyes on Booth. "We're bigger and we're stronger and it's up to each of us to take our lives and do with them what we please."

"You told Dad where we were." Booth said softly. Kelly watched nervously as his breathing changed into quick, sharp breaths.

"Seeley, I don't really see-"

"I have a son. A son that I want to protect from that man." He spat out the last two words with disdain. "I have worked for so long to create a life where he is not a constant shadow and you welcomed him back in."

Both Jared and Kelly sat back in their chairs, neither one knowing what to say. Booth opened his mouth like he was about to say something else, but he quickly pulled back. He placed the napkin that had been on his lap onto the table, pushed back his chair and stalked out of the restaurant.

"He was fine when I told him that Dad stopped by." Kelly whispered to Jared. "Maybe he's had too much time to think about it."

"It's not Dad." Jared shook his head and looked at Kelly apologetically. "It's me. It's Seeley."

"He shouldn't have done that."

"Yeah," Jared smirked a little. "He was our ride."

"Shut up." Kelly grumbled "This is serious. I've never seen Seeley so mad to where he can't actually continue fighting. I've never seen him stop himself before."

"You want me to go after him?" He looked at his little sister. She was genuinely concerned for their brother. "Because I don't think it will do any good."

"You're right. It won't." She took a sip of the wine that was sitting in front of her.

"You still look up to him." Jared said softly with what Kelly detected as envy

"You don't?" She looked at his strong profile.

"We aren't kids anymore, Munchkin. Seeley isn't going to chase away the monsters. He's not going to beat up the kids on the playground when they're mean. He's not cheating so we can win at Monopoly." He turned in his seat so he was looking at Kelly. "We don't need heroes anymore because we can be our own heroes. Like you said earlier, we're bigger and we're stronger than we used to be."

"What does that matter? He's still my brother, just like you." She was frustrated. Jared was always jealous, always thought he could be better. He wasn't better, he was different. "I can be as big and strong as I want to be but he's been here for me when you weren't."

"I'm sorry." He said almost instantaneously

"What?" She raised her eyebrows

"I'm sorry for that." He looked down at his hands.

"Why?"

"I just wish I could have been there." Jared looked up and said uncertainly, "Maybe just like Dad."

"Oh no, don't start that crap." Kelly laughed uncomfortably. "You and Dad are two different people. Two very, _very_ different people."

"Just like me and Seeley?" Humor twinkled in his eyes

"Yeah. Another thing about you and Seeley that's so different?" She nudged him. "He drove and you didn't."

"He won't go anywhere, anyway." Jared laughed "He wouldn't strand us."


	8. Chapter 8

But he did.

Booth didn't know why he did it, but he got into his car and drove away. He steered his car onto the Beltway and looped around for a while, for once finding sitting in construction traffic more relaxing than actually focusing on driving.

He held his phone in his hand, contemplating calling Bones. But he knew that wouldn't make him feel better. As much as he wanted to find solace and comfort in her arms, he knew he couldn't ask for it. She wouldn't understand. She would commiserate, be empathetic, but she could never fully understand the emotions swirling around in his head. She had forgiven her father for running away, just like he had forgiven Kelly.

Kelly. He had tried for years to push Kelly out of his head and had a modicum of success. What he had done to Kelly was exactly what he had done to his father. But his father deserved it. Even when his father was there, he was still an absent father. Now he wanted forgiveness, he wanted to be heard and Booth didn't feel that his father had earned that privilege.

Pops had taught Booth to be a good man. To be understanding and fair. In an unjust world, Booth learned to be equitable. He learned that all of his plans were simply that: plans. Nothing could be calculated or categorized to be laid out for his benefit. And just when Booth thought he had things figured out, a curveball came his way. This time it was his father.

He was angry. Not because his father was back, but because Jared had been the one who had opened the lines of communication. But he wasn't mad at Jared. Yes, he was frustrated, but Jared was simply acting out of his own desires. Booth was never meant to get swept into it.

Parker. What he had said in the restaurant was true. He was protecting Parker from his grandfather. He was also protecting himself. He knew, deep down, that his father would criticize every decision. From the brand of baby formula that he and Rebecca had used to how Parker's hair was cut. The same scrutiny that Booth had been subjected to would be ten-fold for Parker. His son was special to him and he wasn't going to let his father undermine that feeling of security Booth had when he was with his son. In a small way, his father already had. Booth's uncertainty of his parenting ability came from the fact that he wasn't sure he had a good role model to look up to. There was always Pops, but his father was waiting in the wings, almost as if all of Booth's screw ups would be caught on hidden camera.

He had pulled off the Beltway and was now approaching DC through back roads. He had been driving for a little over two hours and suddenly, he felt terrible for leaving his brother and sister in the restaurant. Jared was staying at his apartment and while Kelly had a key, his manners were getting the better of him. He shouldn't have stormed out. But considering the options, it was storm out or punch Jared in the restaurant and he highly doubted that Kelly would appreciate the latter.

None of them had asked for this, but they were all subject to it. What was in the past clearly did not want to stay put and that frustrated him even more. As he was pulling up to the restaurant to see if Kelly and Jared were still inside, he decided that he had learned something through all these years. Just because a dog is trying to attack you, it doesn't mean you have to lie down and let it tear you apart. You could fight back. Or you could pull out your gun, shoot it dead and then walk away. He knew it was a graphic thought, but he couldn't shake it.

He slowed down in front of the restaurant when he saw Kelly standing on the sidewalk. He unlocked his doors and motioned for her to get into the car.

"We finished dinner then I gave Jared my key to your place and he went back in a taxi." She said without waiting for his inquiry. "I stayed here thinking you might come back, but I didn't know it would take you 45 minutes in addition to the time we spent eating dinner."

"Sorry." He mumbled as he pulled back into traffic. "I'll take you back to Rebecca's."

"Are you alright, Seeley?" She asked, looking at him with concern.

"I'll be fine."

"I don't care how you'll be, Seeley Booth, I care how you are now." She said definitively.

"I'm working on it." He was still raging inside and he figured the less he said right now, the better.

They rode to Rebecca's in silence. Once Booth pulled into the driveway, Kelly slid out of the car without saying goodbye. She shut the door behind her then ran around to the driver's side of the SUV and knocked on his window before he pulled away. With a grunt, he rolled down the window and looked at her.

"It's early. Parker will still be up." She said knowingly. "I think you should come inside."

"No, Kelly, I should get back and talk to Jared-"

"Jared is a big boy and can take care of himself." She stuck out her chin in defiance. "Because right now, you need to be reminded who you really are." She reached inside and used the inside door handle to pull open the door. She stood there between the car and the door, waiting for Booth to turn off the engine.

Hesitantly, Booth turned off the car and unbuckled his seat belt, following Kelly into the house.

"Parker!" She shouted once they were in the threshold. "Someone is here to see you!"

"Is it Jeremy?" A small voice shouted from the top of the stairs. Parker came racing out of his room and looked over the top banister. "Daddy!" He shouted, charging down the stairs and flinging himself into Booth's arms.

"What is going on?" Rebecca came out from the kitchen, straight across from the front door. "Seeley? Is something wrong?"

"Hey," Kelly took a step towards Rebecca and whispered softly, "You remember that thing I told you about?" Rebecca nodded. "We're working on it."

"I see."

Booth shot the two women a warning glare over the top of his son's head, but Parker had other plans.

"Daddy! You should see my science experiment! It's slime!" Parker was still clinging on to his father.

"Really Buddy?" Booth looked interested and it pleased the young boy.

"Yeah! It's made with this stuff called Borax and glue! And the Borax binds the glue together 'cause it makes polymers." Parker explained as he jumped out of his father's arms and started pulling him back to the kitchen. "Polymers are really long strings of molecules." He continued explaining.

Booth laughed as he walked by Kelly, "My kid is a scientist! Who knew?"

The tension that had been confined to the muscles of his body seemed to melt away with each step. The doubts and fears had been kicked off with his shoes when he first walked in the door.

"Did Jared make it into town alright?" Rebecca asked once the two boys were gone.

"Yeah." Kelly nodded and threw her purse onto the table by the front door.

"Is that why…"

"No," Kelly shook her head. "It has just been a bad week."

"Because of your father." Rebecca nodded.

"He just needed to be reminded that the voice in his head isn't our father." Kelly sighed as she smiled at Rebecca. "He needs to know he's doing the right thing."

"He'd be so lost without you, Kelly." Rebecca laughed as she threw her arm around Kelly's shoulder. "You and Dr. Brennan keep him in one piece and Parker will be really grateful for that one day."

"Yeah, well, the little snot-head better be." Kelly chuckled as they started into the kitchen. "It's tough work keeping him together."


	9. Chapter 9

_To all those who are still reading (my trusty few!): This is not the end of Kelly. I find inspiration in the weirdest places, so there are now three more stories planned. However, I'm going through a major life change, I'm going back for another degree. (This time it will be theater. Psychology and Theater… two things my parents never told me to major in and look what I did with my life. Ha.) So basically, as I'm transitioning, I won't be able to write as much as I have been. Me and stress = not fun. Knowing me, though, this will be how I de-stress. But there's three stories,__ Running the Ridge (a flashback piece)__, Frivolous Litigation and __Happily Ever After, that I've been outlining. I could end the series here, I kind of like this as a stopping point, but I want to do something else to Kelly and Booth. Trust me, it's good and to me, it's real._

_Also, I know some of you were waiting for a Booth/Joe confrontation, but I just couldn't write it. I can't morally justify it to myself… like I had Kelly say earlier, Booth would indeed be held accountable for his actions… at least, criminally speaking. ;) But this is how Booth gets his final revenge before the statute of limitations is up on Joe Booth._

* * *

Jared's flight to New York was scheduled to leave on a Saturday morning, the usual time for one of Parker's baseball games. Kelly had decided that driving her brother that she never saw to the airport was worth skipping one game for, so it was only Booth, Jeremy and Parker at the diner afterwards for a celebratory lunch. Parker had been a little down; his team had lost. Booth and Jeremy were acting as though they had won the World Series with hamburgers and milkshakes all around.

Parker had excused himself from the ritualistic male bonding to use the restroom. As he scampered off to the back of the diner, Jeremy cleared his throat.

"I have something to say to you, Seeley." Booth glared at Jeremy, but made no move to interrupt him, so Jeremy continued. "I knew when I started dating Kelly that you would always be in our lives." Jeremy started slowly. When Booth started to object, he held up a hand. "I have a little sister, I know what it's like. What Julia and I have though, it's not the same. You are hands down the most important man in Kelly's life. Julia reserves that spot for our father, but to Kelly, you're more than a brother and a father. And that's why I wanted to tell you this." He took a deep breath. "I want to marry your sister. Not tomorrow, and maybe not in the next few months, but I want you to know what my intentions are. I'm going to take it slow because I know she's been through a lot. I just hope that one day, you and Parker can accept me into your family."

"Parker already has." Booth observed Jeremy for a minute.

He grinned at the young man across from him. They both knew they would never be in this exact same position ever again. Booth thought about his son, knowing that he would never have the power to make a man squirm like he had right now. Parker would be squirming in a few years, the farther off the better, but Booth would never get this chance again. Even in the interrogation room, Booth had never seen someone so nervous.

Suddenly, he thought of his father. The emotion he felt wasn't anger or resentment, it was one of pity. His father would never know the pride and love Booth was now experiencing. Not only for his little sister, but for Jeremy as well.

"Okay." He finally voiced his acceptance

"Really?" Jeremy's eyes were shining

"What makes you think she's going to say yes, though?" Booth eyed Jeremy over his cup of coffee

"I'm going out on a limb." Jeremy laughed. "Hoping she can be decisive for once."

"Good luck with that." Booth shook his head. "You should see her during the Army/Navy game. She cheers and boos every play."

"Ah, but she had a brother in the Army and another one in the Navy. I don't see that as indecisive, that's devotion." Jeremy pointed out. "If we want an example of her indecisiveness, I'd like to direct you towards her shower were she can't even commit to a conditioner." Booth laughed. "But I think things are in my favor. I'm the only boyfriend she has, or at least the only one I'm aware of, so she doesn't have many options."

"Sure." He nodded after regarding the younger man. "We make such a fine coaching team, we might as well try the whole family thing."

"I am," Jeremy looked across the table at Booth and grinned. "Really, insanely honored by this."

"Treat her right, Jeremy." Booth smiled tenderly with a devious twinkle in his eyes. "Remember, I am a Federal agent and trained sniper, so if one hair on that annoyingly bouncy little head is ever out of place, I will hunt you down."

"And I respect that." Jeremy nodded. "I just ask that you not aim for the face." He playfully swept his hand across his face. "This is just too pretty to mess up and I'd like an open casket funeral."

"I think I can manage that." Booth laughed at his mock vanity.

"What are you laughing at, Dad?" Parker ran back up to the table and jumped into his seat next to his father, not wanting to miss anything funny.

"Uncle Jeremy here." Booth winked as he used the new name. "He thinks he has a beautiful face."

"Uncle Jeremy?" Parker looked at him with surprise. On several occasions, Parker had accidentally called him that and his Aunt Kelly had been very quick to correct him. He looked between his father and Jeremy as they started laughing again. "No, seriously, what's so funny?"

"Because this, Son, is as good as family gets." Booth sighed "Right here, right now, this is what you fight for."

"Why?" Parker insisted

"Because we're Booth Men!" Booth laughed as he ruffled Parker's blond locks. "Booth Men and Whitman Men… Whit-Men?" Booth leaned across the table and looked at Jeremy square in the eye. "You better make this proposal sooner rather than later. Parker isn't going to be playing little league forever and I'm not one to break up a good team, you got that?"

"Yes sir." Jeremy playfully saluted.

Parker continued to watch his father and Jeremy warily as they continued talking about something that he really had no interest in. But it didn't matter. His father was smiling and laughing for the first time in a week. Not just the laugh that he did when Parker said a bad joke or how he laughed when he didn't have anything to say, but he was laughing. With his eyes. Like Santa, his stomach was shaking and his eyes were glowing. Parker didn't understand why, but he didn't really care.

His dad was right. This was as good as family got.

_Vitality shows in not only the ability to persist but the ability to start over._

_~F. Scott Fitzgerald_

_**..fin..**_


End file.
